© Sue Roffey 2015

Twelve Dimensions for Learning Relationshipsand Promoting Wellbeing: Lesson Content and Congruent School Context

No / SEL Dimension / Content / Context
1. / Self-awareness
  • Being and becoming
/ Identification of values, beliefs, strengths and goals. / Clarity of school values, vision, priorities and direction. A focus on the wellbeing of the whole child
2. / Emotional awareness and knowledge
  • The biology and psychology of emotion
  • Personal triggers
  • Social construction
/ Understanding the range of emotions and how they are experienced within the body. Awareness of personal, social and cultural influences on feelings. / Emotional ‘tone’ of the school and how this is demonstrated.
Awareness of the influences on this development.
3. / Emotional skills
  • Regulation
  • Expression
  • Coping and resilience
/ Dealing with and regulating negative emotion.
Acceptable expression of feelings
Knowing what sustains emotional wellbeing and promotes resilience / Awareness of adult models of emotional literacy
Communication of expectations - validating feelings but not accepting hurtful words and actions
Staff wellbeing
4 / Shared humanity
  • How do we position others in our world?
/ Appreciating uniqueness for the self and others
Valuing diversity
while seeking what is shared .
Inclusive belonging / Celebration of diversity.
Actively addressing racism, sexism and homophobia.
Inclusive policies for students with special needs
SEL Dimension / Content / Context
5 / Interpersonal skills
Skills needed to establish and maintain positive relationships with others / Exploring the meaning and practice of relational values
Positive communication skills
Collaboration and cooperation / Positive teacher-student relationships
Student and staff voice
Staff collegiality
Collaborative pedagogies
Positive communication practices
Support systems
6. / Situational skills
Tuning into the emotional context / Empathy
Reading, interpreting and tuning into emotions in situations
Not pre-judging
Awareness of timing / Taking account of emotions in situations of challenge, change, failure and loss.
Flexibility and appropriate responsiveness in highly charged situations
7. / Leadership / Goal setting
Taking initiative and responsibility
Confidence
Dealing with peer pressure
Empowering others / Communication of vision.
Acknowledging and trusting others
Genuine consultation
‘Walking the talk’
Avoiding blame
Being in charge, but not controlling others
SEL Dimension / Content / Context
8. / Promoting the positive
Strengths and solutions approach / Optimism
Gratitude
Humour
Perspective
Identification of strengths in self and others / Identifying what is going well and ways to increase this.
Working with the positive
Positive behaviour policies
Pedagogies for fun, meaning and engagement
9. / Conflict and confrontation
Dealing well with relational difficulties / Negotiation
Compromise
Appropriate assertiveness
Problem-solving skills / Pre-empting potential conflict
Appropriate use of authority
De-escalating confrontation
Addressing conflict actively.
Anti-bullying policies
10 / Repair and restoration
Mending damage in relationships and restoring community / Acknowledging hurt
‘Doing’ sorry
Willingness to compromise
Responding to repair overtures
Action to repair harm / Restorative approaches to behaviour
Mistakes as part of learning for all
Policies of re-integration for excluded students
11 / Human rights dimensions of SEL
Ethics and integrity / Honesty, trust
Consistency
Ethical decision making
Focus on human rights / Core values in social justice
Congruence between values, policies and practices
Authenticity
SEL Dimension / Content / Context
12 / Spirituality
Seeking meaning in life / Secure identity
Developing a philosophy for life
Environmental responsibility / Educational philosophy focused on the whole child in all dimensions of development alongside community /global awareness and contribution to others.

This table (now amended and further developed) was first published in Roffey, S. (2010) ‘Content and Context for Learning Relationships: A cohesive framework for individual and whole school development’ in Educational and Child Psychology 27 (1) 156-167